Brawn showdown: Barrichello quit threat after Button beats the mayhem

How Jenson Button came to win the Spanish Grand Prix was the question hanging in the warm spring sunshine. And the inquest was being led by his Brawn team-mate and runner-up Rubens Barrichello.

Sitting next to Button after yesterday's victory confirmed his status as world championship favourite, Barrichello was barely able to contain his frustration. 'If I get the slightest sniff that the team are favouring Jenson, I'll hang up my helmet tomorrow,' he declared.

'I have experience of that. I won't be accepting team orders again. I'm making that clear to everybody.'

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How’s that for starters? Buemi, Bourdais, Sutil and Trulli are involved in the first-lap chaos and (inset) the fan with the blacked-up face

Six years as Michael Schumacher's stooge at Ferrari was the context for the Brazilian's rancour. In those days, he occasionally had to be instructed to let the illustrious German prevail.

But, truth be told, Ross Brawn, his former Ferrari boss, had no need to order him to allow Button to win in Barcelona yesterday. He did so on merit.

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The facts are these: Button became the ninth successive driver to take victory here from pole, but only after surrendering his lead to Barrichello at the start. Barrichello thought the race was his. The Brawns were quicker than the rest, including the impressive Red Bulls, who took third through Mark Webber. Who or what could stop him?

A possible factor was Brawn's decision to move Button from the intended three-stop strategy, which Barrichello stuck with, to a two-stopper.

Champagne moment: Jenson Button celebrates

Why is a moot point. Brawn said they were worried about Button being caught up in traffic had he not switched. It also gave them an extra option should the race have taken an unexpected twist.

Barrichello, who said he would demand an explanation, was not convinced, even though as Button pointed out: 'We thought three was quicker. Full stop.'

That is to say that Button believed he was actually being penalised by Brawn's late-sprung call. So did Barrichello.

Brawn, though, summed up why Button came out on top, saying: 'If you look at the lap time on the tyres and the fuel there was a period of the race where Rubens was a lot slower than we expected, and that's what cost him the race. Jenson on more fuel was quicker than he should have been.'

Button was putting his machine on the limit, impressively so on heavy fuel after his first visit to the pits.

'You could not get lap time by driving smoothly,' said Button. 'I had to plant the throttle. The car might have looked twitchy and it may appear messy, but it did work. Sometimes I have not been so aggressive. Now I am doing what I need to.'

What we saw here was Button adapting brilliantly to circumstances, proving himself willing to put artistry aside for hard points. His lead over Barrichello, who finished 13 seconds off the pace, stands at 14 with 12 races remaining.

As significant as Button's hard-headed approach was the revelation that his Brawn GP car remains dominant. After all the teams upgraded here, at the start of the European season, nobody could be sure that their early-season form would continue in this key indicator.

Button, watched by his mother Simone as well as his ever-present father John, is now dreaming of victory on Monaco's famous thread of tarmac at the end of the month. The portents for championship glory are glittering.

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Bitter: Rubens Barrichello will not be excepting team orders from Team Brawn

Not so for two of the towering names of the sport - Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton. The Scuderia's dismal season continued, despite Felipe Massa coming sixth. Even that ray of light was clouded by a problem, which sent Massa out under-fuelled. After contending for fourth place, he had to slow down in an attempt to eke out his meagre supplies to the end, if only on vapours.

'What do I do?' Massa demanded over the radio. 'Stop racing?' Effectively, he did, finally chugging to a halt on his in-lap and walking back to the garage. By then his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was redundant, having retired early with a hydraulic problem.

Disgrace: A lone spectator is seen with his face blacked up in Spain

McLaren's strife was even worse, with Hamilton out of the points in ninth and Heikki Kovalainen let down by his gearbox.

Hamilton was despondent. 'What can I do?' he said. I drove my heart out, as I always do. It's just that the car is not good. I just had no grip. It's a shame they haven't given me a car to defend the championship with. There is no hope.'

Hamilton's day was also marred by a lone fan who arrived with his face blacked up, bringing back memories of the incident in the same country 15 months ago when a group of fans with their faces painted black wore T-shirts adorned with the words "Hamilton's family".

The man was pictured with a blacked-up face and body, wearing a McLaren T-shirt and holding a toy steering wheel. An FIA spokesperson said: 'We are aware of it and we are looking into it.'

All the luck and all the smiles reside with his countryman Button, the racer we might soon call the champion-elect.